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Sunday, December 08, 2013

Both Ryan Callahan and goalie Henrik Lundqvist pointed the fingers squarely at themselves after the Rangers blew a 2-0 lead early in the second period and a one-goal lead in the third period to lose, 4-3, to the Devils in overtime tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Callahan was called for a four-minute high-stick penalty after wildly swinging his stick into defenseman Andy Greene’s face and drawing blood at 1:02 of overtime, leading to Eric Gelinas’ winner 13 seconds later from the right point.

Lundqvist was critical of the way he played Gelinas’ shot, as well as Michael Ryder’s rush to make it 3-2 at 15:56 of the third period.

“He beats me wide, he fakes a shot and he beats me wide and I’m trying to swing around and get his stick and I get it too high,” said Callahan, adding his right hand was fine after he was slashed by Gelinas at 3:03 of the third period. “It’s a play I can’t make. It costs us a point at the end of the day and that’s on me.”

As for Gelinas’ winner, which went off his glove, Lundqvist said, “I need to pick it up faster. I need to try and be patient and wait for the shot there. I don’t know how it went in. I thought I had it, even though it’s a high screen I need to be able to pick it up.”

Ryder beat defenseman John Moore with some slick stickhandling - Marc Staal would have been on the ice in that spot had he not suffered a possible concussion at 13:19 of the third period - and Lundqvist said Ryder being able to have a break at the net took him by surprise.

“On the third one I need to be patient,” Lundqvist said. “Kind of take it as a breakaway. It kind of surprised me the situation so I didn’t come out as I should and that’s not the way I should play it.”

About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.